Methol of producing carbid of calcium, &amp;c.



Patented Aug. l4, I900.

W. S. HOBBY. METHOD OF PRODUCING CARBID OF CALCIUM, &.c.

(No modem (Lpplication filed Mar. 4, 1 BQ9. Renewed Jan. 15, 1900.)

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Aa WIQssWM.

Silers ATENT OFFICE,

WILLlAM SMITH HQRRY, orcrrsw some N. i,

' sheer-cronies remisg er; or rim-ism iaienls rid, e5e,15'e,eeiea dug-list 14, 1900.

- Applicniieu filed ldiaPQ-h d, 18%. Renewed Jammy 16, 1900. Serial No. 1,544. (Zia apeolmcna.)

To wZZ whom it mm concerni- Be it known that 1, WILLIAM SMITH Homer, :1. subjece of Her Mn-jcstythe Queen of Great Briheiu, residing at ihe city of New York, iu

the couuiy of New York cud State of New York, have invented certain uevreud useful improvements in the Preduction cf Cerhid of Calcium and the Like, of which the fol lowing is e specification. i

This invention constitutes a progressive iniprovemcut on my other inventions relating to electric furnaces and electrical methods of making cerloid olfcuicium sod e ther eu ostences, for which I have obtained Letters Patent of the United States No. 597,880 and have made application for Letters Fetenb, which application is serially numbered 878,133.

The leading features of my present invention are, first, the automatic productieu of carhid of calcium in such manner that when once started and the bin, hopper, or space for new material filled the process or production will continue Without further attention as long as maleriel is left in lhe biu or hopper and the carbons remain intact, and, second, dustlessness and cleanliness in operation, which are very advantageous and important.

The methods now preciiced are automatic in so far as the regulation of the furnace-cur rent is concerned, as is set forth in my said application, but are not automatic llil respect to the etching of the furnace. In practice the staking is done either entirely by hand, as coal is fired under a. boiler, or by regulating a valve or ihe like fitted to a. bin or other supply of raw material placed above the furnace,'so that a. coutinuouslymunning furusce requires infpmciicc continual elieuliorio By the use of my invention the operation of the furnaceis made entirely automatic and requires atteuiiou only at long irntervels-ior example, once u. do when the bin requires refilling, and once a week or so, when the carbone have to be renewed.

The manufuciurc of the carbides now prec" iiced is exceedingly objectionable and when carried on extensively, as at Niagara Falls,

is obnoxious ie every living thing and very deleterious ho hearings and other parts of moving machinery. The ground and trees ere covered, with c gray deposit which extends thousands of yards from the furnaces, and it; has a choking eirect upon the ci'tendants in charge of the furnaces. This is occasioned by the gases from the furnace squirting out; the dimly-ground material and filling the surrounding atmosphere with dust'composcd of carbon and quicklime. By my invention the only substance given off from the furnziccs is a. clean gas-cerbon monoxid-which burns So carbon dioxid, and the operation therefore causes no dust at all.

Stated in general terms, myinveuiicu comprises a; dustiess method of making cm-bid and the like, which consists in maintainiuga product and beneath depending carbons, around and above which an incoming charge gravibzilaes, whereby a lateral path of least refield of reduction at the top of the finished sislance is provided by which the evolved gases escape beneath the electrodes and mass of the charge, and it further comprises 'the improvements hereinafter set forth,

The nature, characteristic fcel'jurcs, and scope of the invention will he more fully understood from the" following description, taken in connect-ion with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, and in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view of one type of electric furnace to which my invention is applicable, and Fig. 2 is a similar view-of air other type of electric furnace to which the invention is applicable.

To practice my invention, I provide a furmace-body or the like adapted to contain and receive at its top a supply of charge and to permiu of the removal or withdrawal of the finished product from berieaththe charge; I also provide electcodcs depending from and through the charge. The advantage of this I is that; I am enabled to control eutonmticclly the removal of the product and regulate the furnace-current, as set forth in my said applicatiomSerial No. 706, 352, and also to cause the charge to feed by gravitation, to protect the electrodes, and to present such opposition to the passage of :the gases evolved that the same seek a, path or paths of least resistance and escape laterally from beneath the elec-' trodes and incomipg charge and from above the finished product, whereby dust is prevcntcd and automatic sinking accomplished. As all appropriate provision for the attainment of this result I provide foruminous side walls in the fnrnacebody at sud near the zone of reduction and heat, through which the gases may escape laterally without squirt log out the powdered material pr delcteri ously affecting the electrodes.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a. furnace-body that may communicate at its top with or form the spout of a hopper or bin containing nsupply of powdered raw material. This bodyis adepted to contain the row materiel 2 at its top and the finished product 3 below. The electrodes 4 depend within the body and are substantielly parallel and vertical. The side wnlls ofthe body etnnd near the zone of reduction are foraminous, us at 5, for the latcral escape of'the evolved gases.

6 is a. inotor controlled by the furnace-circolt 7--as, fpr example, by way of a. transformer 8-and adapted to shift the furnacebottom 9.

In Fig. 2 the upper portion 10 of the circular furnace is buildup above and around the depending electrodes 4 to contain a supply of raw material, and it may communicate with a spout or itself form u. bin or hopper, as shown. The lower portion of the furnace receives nndby its rotation serves to shift the product. The side walls of the furnace are 'foraminous, as as 12, for the purpose described.

13 is a motor geered to the rotary furnace and controlled by the furnace-circuit 14, for example, as byqa transformer 15.

In use powdered raw material is piled up so high in the bin or hopper and upper part of the furnace that gas given off during the formation of the product will not violently escape through the top, which would produce or create dust, but will leave the furnace by the vents, holes, or foraininous side walls Surrounding the are or heat zonein a. lateral direction with respect to the csrbid, electrodes, and charge, and thus produce no dust. The product is removed from-time to time, and as prod need it lowers the electrical resistance between the electrodes and the current (ampercs) consequently increases. When this occurs, the series transformer causes at largev current to traverse the motor, which then rotates in such direction that the csrbid is drawn away from the arc, and the furnaceamperes are thereby reduced and the motor slows down and stops. 'A more full description of the electromechanical apparatus by which the electric energy is automatically kept constant in electric furnaces i's contzlined in my said application, to which referonce may be had. The etlect of Withdrawing the carbid from the zone of reduction is to permit fresh raw material to sink by gravity into that Zone, and this process will automatically contin no as long as there is any raw material left in the bin or hopper. The carbon monoxid issues laterally from the heated zone and igniles generally spontaneously and burns to carbon binoxirl.

it will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains that modlfi cations may be made in details without dcpsrting from the spirit thereof. Hence 1 do not limit myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts hercinnbove set forth, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings; but,

Having thusdcsoribcd the nature and ob- I gases laterally by said path, and shifting the csrbid and charge vertical] y in respect to the electrodes to bring successive portions of the charge into the zone of reduction, substantially as descrihe'd.

2. The method of automatically making carbid of calcium and the like which consists in arranging electrodes in a substantiallyvcrtical position and electrical] y maintaining a zone of reduction near theirdepending ends, superimposing a charge above the electrodes to a depth sufiicient to oppose the passage of evolved gas and permitting it to gravitate between and around the electrodes, supporting the product beneath the charge and electrodes, conducting the evolved gases away laterally from' the zone of reduction, and shifting the carbid'vertically in respect to the electrodes to permit successive portions of the charge togrn-vitate into the zone of reduction, substantially as described.

3. Themethod of automatically making carbid of calcium and the like which consists in arranging clectrodes in a substantiallyvertical position and passing a current between them to maintain a zone of reduction near their depending ends, superimposing a charge above the electrodes to n depth sulficient to oppose the passage of evolved gas and permitting itto gravitate between and around the electrodes antomatically shifting the product to keep said current constant,

and conducting the evolved gases nwoy lnterally from the zone of reduction, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

' XVILLIAM Slll'lll IIORRY.

In presence of- J. E. MCLAUGHLIN, H. S. DUDLEY. 

